The present invention relates to apparatus such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,018 wherein a processing apparatus is shown for selectively crushing both magnetic and non-magnetic cans, and separating the magnetic cans from the non-magnetic cans and then ultimately moving the non-magnetic cans to a weighing and storage area wherein the weight of cans being processed in a given group can be established and, if desired, payment can be made for the processed articles.
A similar construction using a magnetic drum and belt type of a separator for magnetic articles is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,511. Other drum type magnetic material separators or apparatus therefore is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,749,240 and 4,225,047. U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,410 is of interest as it relates to a compact can crusher and is of the type that can be used for preparing cans for separation between magnetic material cans and cans made from non-magnetic material.
Some prior separator apparatus has used feeder and/or conveyor belts therein and these belts characteristics vary with the operating temperatures and may require frequent adjustment. Also, conveyor belt equipment is bulky and is relatively slow acting.